Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made and assessment of the potential impact of changes to the two child benefit cap on levels of food bank use.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Although no assessment has been made regarding the impact of these changes on food bank use specifically, the reversal of the two child limit in Universal Credit demonstrates this Government’s relentless commitment to tackling child poverty by investing in the future of our children.
This measure is the most cost effective and quickest way of reducing child poverty over this Parliament and, by itself, will lift 450,000 children out of poverty in the final year of this Parliament. It is not right that children were punished for choices that were not their own and we are determined to lift children out of poverty regardless of the size of their family.
Our commitment to tackling child poverty is at the heart of the Government’s plan for national renewal - delivering more security, more opportunity, and more respect for every family and every community across the UK.
We are committed to tackling poverty and ending mass dependence on emergency food parcels. We have already taken many decisive steps to achieve this on top of removing the two child limit. This includes the expansion of free school meals and tripling our investment in breakfast clubs. We have also confirmed over £600 million for the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Programme for the next three financial years.
In addition, on 1 April 2026, we introduced a new Crisis and Resilience Fund in England. This fund aims to enable local authorities to provide preventative support to communities as well as assisting people when faced with a financial crisis.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Department's report entitled Evaluation of Automatic State Pension Forecasts, Research Report No 447, published on 11 November 2025, what assessment he has made of the evidence on the effectiveness of automatic pension forecast letters; and what assessment he has made of the potential merits of reviewing the decision to not award financial redress to those women born in the 1950s that were adversely affected by changes to pension entitlements.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State set out on 11 November 2025, we are retaking the decision made in December 2024 as it relates to the communications on state pension age. In retaking the decision, we are reviewing the 2007 report entitled Evaluation of Automatic State Pension Forecasts, Research Report No 447, alongside evidence previously considered. That work is underway but has not yet concluded.
We will update the House on the decision as soon as a conclusion is reached.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of expanding the eligibility criteria for the Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payment award.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
We continue to keep the Funeral Expenses Payment scheme under review to ensure it remains effective and sustainable within current budgetary constraints.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people with (a) Fibromyalgia and (b) other complex and lifelong conditions are not asked to complete a number of reassessments for Personal Independence Payments following an award.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
Entitlement to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is assessed on the basis of the needs arising from a health condition or disability, rather than the health condition or disability itself. Individuals can be affected in different ways by the same condition and so the outcome of a PIP claim depends very much on individual circumstances.
Award reviews are an important feature of PIP to ensure people receive the correct level of benefit, both for those whose needs will increase and those whose needs may decrease.
Award durations are based on an individual’s circumstances and advice received from the independent health professional who carries out the assessment. Awards can vary from nine months to an on-going award, with a light touch review at the ten-year point for those with needs which are unlikely to change.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of proposals to remove entitlement to the Universal Credit Health element for those aged under 22 on levels of food bank need.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
No such assessment has been made.
An Impact Assessment was published alongside the Pathways to Work Green Paper, which can be found here.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to improve employer (a) awareness and (b) training on autism-inclusive workplace practices.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In the plan to Make Work Pay (October 2024), government committed to raising awareness of all forms of neurodiversity in the workplace. This includes autism.
We are supporting employers to be more inclusive in their workplace practices, regardless of diagnosis. DWP's current offer to employers includes a digital information service, www.support-with-employee-health-and-disability.dwp.gov.uk/, this service guides employers through workplace scenarios, including making reasonable adjustments, explaining the steps they need to take to understand and support their employees’ health and disability in the workplace.
In addition, DWP oversees the voluntary Disability Confident Scheme which encourages employers to create disability inclusive workplaces and to support disabled people to get work and get on in work. This includes resources around employing people with hidden disabilities including autism and other neurodiverse conditions. We know there is more to do and DWP are actively engaging with stakeholders to strengthen the scheme.
DWP also operates Access to Work, which provides grant funding to support Workplace Adjustments that go beyond an employer's duty to provide reasonable adjustments as outlined in the Equality Act 2010. The grant provides personalised support and workplace assessments, travel to work, support workers, and specialist aids and equipment. In March 2025, we published the Pathways to Work Green Paper, to consult on the future of Access to Work. We are considering responses to the consultation and will set out our plans in due course.
Lastly, in January 2025, DWP launched an independent panel of academics with expertise and experiences of neurodiversity to advise us on boosting neurodiversity awareness and inclusion at work. The panel have reviewed the workplace barriers neurodivergent people encounter in getting into or remaining in employment. We have now received the panel’s findings and recommendations and will consider these alongside the findings of Keep Britain Working, our recently published major independent review on healthy and inclusive workplaces.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make it his policy to collect data on the reasons people do not claim Universal Credit when required to do so by the managed migration process.
Answered by Jo Churchill
A survey commenced in April this year where we contacted people who have not claimed Universal Credit following receipt of the migration notice. Findings from this survey will be published in due course.
We published research on Tax Credit only claimants on 29 February 2024 Move to Universal Credit – insight on Tax Credit migrations and initial Discovery activity for wider benefit cohorts - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has (a) made an assessment of the potential impact of Universal Credit migration on disabled people and (b) put support in place for disabled people affected by that migration.
Answered by Jo Churchill
The DWP continue to learn and iterate our approach as we progress our Move to Universal Credit activity. We remain committed to ensuring that the transition to Universal Credit works as smoothly as possible for all customers, including the most vulnerable in society. Our latest insight publication is available on GOV.UK - Move to Universal Credit – insight on Tax Credit migrations and initial Discovery activity for wider benefit cohorts - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
We have developed an enhanced support journey for ESA and Income Support customers and remain confident that this provides effective support for our most vulnerable customers.
All customers can also use the independent Help to Claim service run by Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland which provides support across England, Scotland, and Wales as well as accessing face to face support at job centres.
Also, we continue to work with a broad range of external stakeholders to gather their insight and experience of working with our mutual customers, to learn and develop our approach for moving legacy benefit customers to Universal Credit.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2024 to Question 902040 on Universal Credit, when he will publish constituency level data setting out how many Universal Credit Migration Notice letters he plans to send.
Answered by Jo Churchill
The Department publishes regular Move to Universal Credit statistics, which can be found at: Move to Universal Credit statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). The next release, on Tuesday 14 May 2024, will include statistics, including Migration Notices sent, by Parliamentary Constituency level. Forecasts at constituency level are not readily available.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to help support women in Hornsey and Wood Green constituency to return to work after a career break.
Answered by Jo Churchill
Local Jobcentre teams are supporting residents into work and helping those in work to progress to higher paid jobs. We are working with local and national employers to help fill vacancies quickly, delivering Sector-Based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs), recruitment days, Job Fairs, and work trials, all of which can help support women to return to work after a career break.
In addition, one to one support from a Work Coach and Contracted Employment Programmes, the department also offers help with CVs and employability skills, mentoring circles for people aged 50 plus and support with childcare costs. Where a Work Coach identifies a barrier to securing or progressing in employment, they can use the Flexible Support Fund (FSF) to procure clothing, tools, digital devices, and to help with travel to work costs.
In Haringey, we are working with the Construction Youth Trust to support more women into construction roles, with referrals made by Jobcentres across the borough, and funding available to support women who want to work in this sector.
To help facilitate signposting discussions with claimants, staff have access to a database of national and local support information, the District Provision Tool as well as the new Managed Jobs and Opportunities which ensures that claimants can access tailored support where required. This includes provision aimed at women across London such as Dress for Success, a service that supports women to improve their confidence when attending interviews and Smart Works, a UK charity that provides high quality interview clothes and interview training to unemployed women.
We are also working with Transport for London and the College of North East London on their Women into Transportation and Engineering provision. This provides two weeks of pre-employment training, covering CV writing, and workplace skills, plus a Smart Works coaching and styling appointment designed to give participants the confidence to apply for the roles offered within the programme